Blood: River of Life Flashcards
What is Blood?
- Fluid connective tissue that circulates continually around the body
- Transport system
Functions of Blood: Transport
- Nutrients to cells
- Dissolved gasses, oxygen and carbon dioxide
- Fat from stores to cells of the body
- Metabolic waste for elimination via the lungs (e.g. CO2) or kidneys (e.g. urea)
- Hormones (and drugs) from their origin (or administration) to their sites of action
Functions of Blood: Homeostasis
- Regulates body temperature
- Regulates pH (buffers, e.g. bicarbonate buffer system)
- Helps regulate the circulating blood volumes due to the osmotic pull of its plasma proteins
Functions of Blood: Defence
- Against infection, since it contains many components of our immune system
- Clotting factors preventing excessive blood loss
What is Blood Made Of?
- 55% plasma
- 45% formed elements - erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets
Plasma Proteins
Mostly produced by the liver.
What are they?
- 60% albumin: maintain osmotic pressure and carrier molecule for free fatty acids, some drugs, and steroid hormones
- 35% globulins: antibodies and transport proteins
- 4% clotting factors: fibrinogen
- 1% regulatory: enzymes and hormones
Hemopoiesis or Haematopoiesis
The production of blood cells and platelets.
Occurs in:
- Red bone marrow which is found in flat and irregular bones and at the end of long bones
- Fatty yellow marrow no longer produces blood cells
Erythrocytes: Structure and Function
Transports respiratory gases.
Structure underlies function:
- Biconcave disc huge SA:V for gas exchange
- No organelles
- Haemoglobin for gas transport
- Flexible - can squash down when going through tiny capillaries
Erythrocytes: Fate
- Severe mechanical stresses
- Wear out with 100-120 day lifespan
- Haemoglobin is broken down into haem and globin.
- Globin: broken down into amino acids and released into the bloodstream
- Haem: iron is recycled to make new haemoglobin and the rest is excreted
Erythropoiesis
Production of RBCs from precursor stem cells. Dietary requirements: - Amino acids for globin production - Folic acid and VB12 for DNA synthesis - Iron for haem
Erythropoiesis: Formation of RBCs
- Starts as a stem cell
- Developmental stage:
- Phase 1: ribosome synthesis
- Phase 2: haemoglobin accumulation
- Phase 3: Ejection of the nucleus
- Erythrocyte!
Adjustment of Rate of Erythropoiesis
Hormone EPO, which acts on the bone marrow to stimulate erythropoiesis:
- Kidneys naturally produce EPO
- Hypoxia stimulates the kidneys to produce EPO
Leukocytes
White blood cells make up less than 1% of total blood volume.
Provide defence against infection, other foreign bodies, and our own cells when they go rogue.
Leukocyte rolling is when the WBCs leave the bloodstream and move to the site of infection.
Granulocytes: Neutrophils
- 40-75% of leukocytes
- Polymorphonuclear leukocytes
- Very active against bacteria
- Signal for back-up
- Lifespan of 30mins-10hrs
Granulocytes: Eosinophils
- 1-6% of leukocytes
- Found at the site of allergic reactions (airways, skin)
- Digest parasitic worms that are too large to be phagocytosed
- Modulators of the immune system - help reduce inflammation